


Stealth and Other Friendship Things

by RisuAlto



Series: Tumblr Ask Prompt Fills [15]
Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Implied Relationships, Love, Reunions, Statue of Hachiko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 17:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21479932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RisuAlto/pseuds/RisuAlto
Summary: In the space between her heartbeats, Shiki swore she felt a warmth on her back, a gentle push decked out in the echoes of someone’s laughter.  “Yes,” someone said, smiling.  “He certainly deserves it, doesn’t he?”
Relationships: Misaki Shiki/Sakuraba Neku
Series: Tumblr Ask Prompt Fills [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547980
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	Stealth and Other Friendship Things

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt was, "Surprise hug."

It wasn’t often that they agreed to meet up so late at night, but since Rhyme had an English test and Neku was working on a new mural that day, Shiki’s friends had agreed that maybe waiting until eight or so was acceptable. Also, being the middle of August in Tokyo, she had a feeling they were all secretly trying to avoid the worst of the summer heat since the humidity was unavoidable. Shibuya Crossing was just as crowded now as it was during the day; the difference was that now, the mass of people was mostly students like her, hurrying home from club meetings or going out to dinner, instead of the salarymen and women rushing for lunch breaks or meetings. Somehow, it made the city softer. 

Thankfully, it _didn’t_ make Neku’s spiky red hair any less easy to spot. He was standing, as always, just to the right of Hachiko’s statue, one foot tapping its heel against the stone in some strange rhythm that Shiki couldn’t make out from here.

Just as Shiki was about to wave, make herself known in the crowd, she heard a voice from the other side of the statue call out. It sounded like a greeting, but Shiki couldn’t quite make it out. Neku, however, immediately turned, putting his back to her and facing who Shiki presumed to be Beat and Rhyme.

She watched as they approached Neku and Beat greeted him with a soft punch to the arm while Rhyme folded their hands behind their back and beamed bright enough to rival the stars. Still, he hadn’t noticed Shiki, even as she was forced to walk closer or be swept away by the sea of people.

It wasn’t often that she had the opportunity to sneak up on Neku Sakuraba. She damn well wasn’t going to waste it.

_(In the space between her heartbeats, Shiki swore she felt a warmth on her back, a gentle push decked out in the echoes of someone’s laughter. “Yes,”_ he _said, smiling. “He certainly deserves it, doesn’t he?”)_

As Shiki approached with almost unnaturally silent steps on the pavement, Rhyme caught her eye and nearly called out. But, a single finger against Shiki’s lips had them nodding minutely, lips still sealed and face sparkling with the joy of a secret.

Shiki managed to snake her arms around Neku’s stomach and squeeze, rewarding her (and Rhyme’s) secrecy with Neku’s indignant and positively _shrill_ cry of, “_What the–_?!” He jerked at the touch like Shiki’s fingers were made of lightning instead of flesh, knocking her glasses askew even as she pressed her cheek into his shoulder. Beat nearly collapsed against Hachiko’s base laughing as Neku struggled to turn around in Shiki’s grip.

“Hi,” Shiki said, shaking with the force of her own smile.

Neku stared down at her, mouth still open and arms frozen in midair, apparently too shocked to try and push her away yet. “Shiki—Why—What—Are you—Why would you _do_ that?” he finally managed.

Shiki shrugged, arms catching in the fabric of his jacket as she kept holding on. “You had your back to me,” she said. “I couldn’t pass up the chance.” Neku was still frozen, and his posture suddenly set off warning bells. “Unless—Oh, sorry.” She started to pull away, afraid that maybe this was too much, too soon, even with how much more open Neku had been to casual touches between them and their friends.

Eyes now fixed on her simple black shoes, Shiki was startled to feel something touch her arm, keeping it in place. “No,” Neku said, “it’s not—I mean, you just sc—” (he glanced towards Beat, then reconsidered) “—surprised me.”

Beat snorted. “You should’a seen your face, dude,” he said.

Shiki _felt_ Neku roll his eyes, whole body seeming to sigh with the, though he seemed determined not to actually look at her. “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “None of you are ever getting that lucky again.”

“That sounds like a challenge, Neku,” chirped Rhyme.

“Only if you like losing,” he said, but he wasn’t looking at them as he answered. Instead, he stepped back from Shiki, just enough to break her grip, and reached out, nudging her glasses back into place with two fingers.

Swallowing past the sudden tightness in her throat, Shiki smirked up at him. “Oh, Neku,” she sighed. “Have you _met _us? We don’t lose.”

_(In the corner of her eye, the reflection of her glasses lens, a white feather alighted on the ground.)_


End file.
